Salem's Lot

1979 | Tobe Hooper | Stephen King | Vampires Hooptober Ocho: 36/37 1 Tobe Hooper film: 1/1 Tobe Hooper's 1979 Stephen King TV adaptation of "Salem’s Lot" is a three hour beast of a vampire film. Three hours sounds pretty daunting at first, but the film doesn't feel that long. The first hour in particular goes by quickly and there are hardly any moments in which the film drags on too much. Still, I would say that the film is a little bit too long, especially towards the beginning of the third hour. But I would still claim that the film kinda deserves the runtime because it establishes both the setting and the characters very meticulously and not only focuses on vampire action but also shows how it affects the townspeople and how the town is gradually falling apart. The characters are all quite good and make sure that the town drama doesn't get boring and the acting is solid through and through. The film scores with a dense atmosphere and a fantastic score and some great visuals, some creepy moments and Hooper's skilful direction that deals well with the possibilities of a TV film and definitely doesn't make the film look like a TV film. In addition, vampire design and make-up are really outstanding. The main vampire is more Nosferatu than Dracula which I really liked here and his appearance is sometimes pretty intimidating, especially the way he appears in the scene with the parents and the priest. "Salem’s Lot" is, in my opinion, a good vampire film that is nevertheless a little too long and maybe a little too slow every now and then. If the plot had been a little bit stronger, I would certainly have liked the film better, but the three hours were a good time.